When I met Tank, he had been recently purchased by one of my wonderful long-time customers. She was looking for a second good horse so she and her son could ride together.

“Just a great horse!” That was how Tank was advertised when she found him on Craigslist. And I believe the sellers were being honest about him.

The first thing we did after he arrived at her boarding facility was pull his shoes. That's when his new owner explained that he wasn’t fitting in very well and she was afraid he might end up hurting her. I noticed that he was a bit insecure in his new environment but assumed he'd figure out the routine.

She was a bit nervous about him and it seemed that she didn't understand his natural horsemanship training so she decided to relist him for sale. I took him to the round pen and he was awesome! He did everything I asked perfectly.

My fear for him was that he might find himself with that all too familiar and devastating label of "dangerous horse". I've seen it happen to really good horses who just fell into situations that caused them to make bad decisions.

I just could not watch a great horse like him to fall into that progression of being sold down the line from one owner to the next for less and less money until he was just another free horse no one cared about.

It was crazy for us to purchase Tank, with this herd of rescues, but I had to do it and it was not a mistake. He taught many kids to ride. He is a no-nonsense trail horse. He will get you there and back and there is no messing around in between.

When he was in our quarantine paddock, the first thing I noticed was the way Tank looked off into the distance. I began to suspect he had the same issues I had with my vision. And Appaloosas are prone to have vision issues, but he can see just fine. He may be a bit near sighted, but I am too.

Vision problems could explain why he had a hard time at a new barn, or maybe he just didn't like it there and could not get a handle on what was expected of him, but since he’s been here, he hasn’t jumped or spooked even once while leading or riding him. We've simply offered him our trust in him and he quickly learned to trust us.

Tank’s hooves are recuperating from being shod for many years and doing well. He fits in with the herd although he’s fairly low on the pecking order. He’s kind to all the other horses and will even share his grain with his best gal, Geena.

No, Tank isn't young, and “buying” another horse was NOT in our plans, but we just felt it was the right thing to do for his sake. He really is "Just a great horse."

Tank's hoof. Going barefoot for awhile may help this hoofwall become stronger in the area of the injury. Update, this old wound is barely noticeable now.